Strictly Prohibited
by ayuru kaen
Summary: A new nakagosoi fic on the block. Soi is a star student, and Nakago is a new professor out to kick some brains. Lots of friction. Go figure.
1. new year new enemies

I do not own Fushigi Yuugi.. but i do wish i owned rurouni kenshin (and, again, I don't).. praise nobuhiro watsuki and yuu watase..

Ayuru Nakago and Kaen Soi. A teacher and his student. Bound by fierce passions and unimpeded love, it was the ultimate forbidden romance. It was a story that wrapped itself with lies and secrets, and immersed itself in dreams and hopes. A tale of two lovers, who are as starkly different as the sea is from the sky, yet burning with a love that broke down all boundaries and united them.

She, with the willful persistence and unmitigated energy of a born achiever, had set out to experience life and breeze through it, with excellence following her every step. Not sparing the time to entertain courtships and men, she lived only for the academic challenges and her family. She was headstrong, and fervently spent every waking hour for those she loves the most.

He, however, is strong-willed yet quiet, a loner if there ever was one. Intelligent and serious, he is shrouded by a mysterious past, which led him to become manipulative and cold. Deceivingly silent he may seem, but he is a man who gets what he wants. He is above the petty passions of life- love, especially, which remains bothersome to him.

However, unknown to these two people, the fates have arranged for them to finally meet…and change each other's lives…

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The sun brightened the deserted hallway with rays of light that slanted against the walls, whose pale yellow color gave the corridor a soft glow. The breeze flowed freely through the arcs that showed the view to the quadrangle, where one can see a nearing speck in the distance. That speck, though, has a trail of long, shiny, burgundy locks pulled into a single loose braid, and equally dark red eyes to match. Her brows, nonetheless, are knit together in a look of furious concentration. The reason for her agitation and panic? The bell has already rung, and she was undoubtedly late…

"Ohmanohmanohman! Damn that alarm clock! Should have gotten a new one! Why oh why did it have to have a snooze button! This will not look good on my report card," the hurrying girl mumbled irately to herself.

Eyes clouded by horrible visions of stains in her immaculate record, she didn't even notice the looming figure in the line of her path. The solid wall of the man's back crushed her nose as she bumped straight into him. She instantly backed away, and massaged her red, throbbing nose. Another rub in the face to her already stinking day.

"Yeow! Hey, watch where you're going mister! Oh, hell, I mean sorry! I'm sorry, it was entirely my fault. I wasn't looking. If you were paying attention, though, mister, you could have avoided me, you know. Anyway, I apologize, I have to get to---"she immediately stopped rambling once she got a good look at the guy's features.

Wavy, blond tresses that fell to his shoulders and piercing blue eyes that were as fathomless as the ocean, greeted her startled gaze. For a moment, her breath caught, and a wave of electricity shot from his gaze and traveled to the ends of her very being. She finally remembered that she had a class to go to, and that she was late. LATE! TARDY! A mark on her (once) flawless record! She gathered her wits and faced the person with a glare, for surely he was no older than her eighteen years. Perhaps two or three years her senior. She raised her chin up a notch and considered him with a serious expression.

"Excuse me, but I have a class to go to," she all but snapped at him. The guy cost her the little time she had left, and she was already delayed.

"Wait! I'm sorry. May I have your name miss? You see, I'm part of the administration and---"

"I'm sorry, but I really must go," she cut him off short and left him before he could even reply.

She stormed off and was glad to get away from the infuriating man. She was annoyed at herself, for getting so flustered and distracted by such a guy. Probably an arrogant, know-it-all intern who thinks he's oh-so-mighty just because of his good looks, she thought darkly. Good looks indeed. The man was tall and lean, with toned muscles enough to be seen, but subtle enough that only with a keen eye could one notice them beneath his casual suit. She refused to admit it, even to herself, but the guy gave an intimidating aura. Powerful, even. She was disturbed to remember the cutting frostiness of his stare, so empty and cold. She brushed off the encounter, and actually ran the whole way to her classroom.

She was relieved to find that the lessons haven't begun. There wasn't even a teacher yet. She searched the rows and columns of desks and chairs until she found one beside her friends. Like any normal student, she began to talk with them about the past summer and the new students and teachers.

"Oh, mygosh! Did you guys see the new professor? He is outta this world!" Mei-Mei, Soi's self proclaimed guy-magnet (and equally guy-crazy)friend,practically gushed.

"Oh Mei! Look, you're geting droolall over yourself agen! Somebody hand me a mop.Anyway, who's got medicine for this man-mad freak, here? She's triggering off another flirt alert!" Soi good-naturedly teased her friend. She never got a chance to hang out with the gang and she really missed them. She was so caught up in summer classes and sports events that she didn't even have time to spend with her pals.

"Come on, Soi, share my passion, for once! I hear he is so hot, his female students tend to always flunk his class'cause they're too busy looking at him than listening to his lectures! I think that's why he transferred here.Either way,I think the guys here in school don't ask you out anymore since they know you won't say yes. Break out a little, will you? Tell her, Ayuri," Mei-Mei implored, her coal-black eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Oh no, I won't let you drag me into that again. Last time I took sides between you two, I had to face all the school demands and complaints alone. It took me days to finish that stack of papers, and my hand still has pen marks," Ayuri, themost timid of the three,smilingly replied.

"Wise choice to shut up Ayu-chan. But, really, what would the student council do without you?" remarked Soi.

"The council would do fine without me. It's you who's indispensable."

" Shh! People, somebody's coming!" someone shouted from the front row.

Everybody turned around in his seat to face the front of the classroom. It seemed like all of them were holding their breaths.

The sound of shuffling feet was coming closer, and all eyes were glued to the door. They waited. And waited. And a tall figure with a blond head appeared through the doorway. Gasps and swoons were heard simultaneously throughout the room. Almost all of the girls in the class swooned at the sight of their new professor. Well, almost all of them. Soi just gaped at him in shock. The man she had bumped into minutes ago was their new professor. He's a PROFESSOR? But he's so young! He looks more like an assistant, she thought wonderingly, eyes wide and mouth gaping.

The man scanned the room and hid a smirk at all the girls who were fainting in front of him. But his amusement grew when he saw the dumbstruck expression on the face of the girl he met moments before. Their eyes met and she instantly clamped her mouth shut and quickly averted her gaze. He watched, intrigued, as she seemed to be having an internal battle with herself, if only for a second. She shook her head slightly and faced him once again, eyes serious and challenging. He instantly felt admiration towards the girl.

He continued to scan the room, and, after regarding everyone with his gaze (it took moments before the girls started to gather their senses), he cleared his throat and spoke."Good morning class. My name is Ayuru Nakago, and I am your new Advanced Physics professor. I expect you to treat my subject and me the way that you treat the other administrators in this university: with due respect. Also, I am the current head of the Science department, so if you have any questions regarding some of the subjects and teachers in that area, you can approach me," he said in a deep, velvety voice that had the girls melting again.

Hmph. I was right. He is smug, Soi affirmed silently.

"Ohmigosh, Soi! That's him! That was the guy I was telling you about! He's gorgeous!" Mei-Mei, ever the outspoken one,excitedly whispered.

"Yeah. Gorgeous, hot, whatever. But does he have any brains underneath that big wig of his?" Soi replied skeptically, still examining the newcomer.

"Aw, geez! Give him a break! He is after all the head of the science department, so it must mean something," Mei-Mei countered, clearly getting more hyperactive by the second.

"Whatever." Her mind was on more important matters. What was she going to do? She never in her life behaved so rudely to a teacher, but that was what she just did that morning. It wasn't my fault, since he doesn't even look like a freakin' teacher, she worriedly reasoned to herself. But what if he thinks that it's a plausible reason to disintegrate my grades? I'd be doomed! He even stressed the fact that he makes a big deal out of respect. I'll have to apologize to him if I want to establish a better impression, she thought. With her decision finally made, she was already counting the minutes and dreading the meeting with Ayuru-sensei.

The orientation flew by, and already the class was packing up to transfer to the next room. Soi lagged behind and saw that Ayuru-sensei was watching her with an indiscernible knowing smile. It's almost as if he knows what I'm up to, she thought. Moreover, that idea nearly made her chicken out. Nevertheless, she argued that she had to be brave in order to salvage her reputation.

The class dispersed completely and she made her way to the front.

"Excuse me, sensei, but, I wanted to apologize for this morning. You see, I didn't realize that----" she started to say, but Ayuru-sensei beat her to it.

"Kaen Soi, right? Don't worry, I won't hold that incident against you. Although, you should be morecareful with whom you talk to next time. And I'm sorry to inform you this, but, I happen to notice that you were late for my class, and that will come out of your record," he assured, hiding a gleam in his eyes.

"Honto? You won't hold it against me, Sensei? Thank you! You don't know how relieved I am to---," she stopped when the rest of his words sank in.

"What! How can you mark me tardy when you didn't even show up to class on time!" Soi all but exploded.

"Watch that mouth of yours, Kaen, unless you want more than bad grades to tarnish your record. The difference between us is that I am your teacher and you are my student. I expect you to regard me as such. Do you understand?" he was already rising from the chair behind his desk and his height became daunting. Considering she was already one of the tallest girls in class, that's saying something.

The fact that he was at least a head taller than her, forced her to look up at him, and the electrifying tension that was slowly building between them intensified.

"Yes, sir," she replied through gritted teeth, letting only the slightest hint of sarcasm enter her words.

"Excellent. You'd want to start heading to class now, or you're delays just might land you in detention," he added venomously. His first day in the university and already he was off to a good start with one of his students. A female, no less. And a pretty one, at that. The world just turned upside down today, he thought, mildly interested. She seemed to be the only one not succumbing to his cool charms. She surprisingly triggered his curiosity.

"De-detention," she sputtered, horrified by the mere thought of spending an hour in a room wasting time when clearly, she had better things to do.Soi pushed down the urge to growl and bare her teeth at the unbelievable man in front of her. This is going to be a very impossible year, she thought, as she huffed and abruptly turned her back on her sensei, and made her way to the next class. But even as she stomped away, she could still feel a pair of cold, calculating blue eyes observing her retreating form.

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Authors Notes:

Pls. R&R: ) to my very insane friend, naomi, thank you for the criticism, and the support, hah! and i would just like to mention that some of the characters are empirically-based... thank you, thank you.. following chapters will positively burst into flame with the friction.. and yui comes in! stay tuned, y'all :)


	2. hot heads, cold stares

**Author's notes:**

Sorry if i haven't editted in a while... okay, shoot me, a LOOOOOONG while... please bear with me here.. it ain't easy writing a story when your only connection to the civilized world (I mean the Internet, of course) is cut off from you for five hell-bent months.. Luckily I survived.. thanks for the reviews.. tear natch.. haha!as if!! well, here's my next installment... enjoY!!!!

Groans echoed off the walls of the sun-lit classroom, as the students looked forlornly at the long list of homework that they had to do. Surprisingly, Soi expressed a sigh as well. Normally, she would have acted nonchalant and just copied the assignment, but since she's being piled with the school board's list of requirements (she is after all, the president of the school council), she would have gladly made do without the extra work. Only a week has passed, and already she's being bombarded with tasks not even the headmaster could handle. Not that she'd complain it out loud.

While still madly scribbling, Soi felt a hard jab at her right side.

"Aw, fucking flying feces of fo-...!" she unintentionally swore aloud, as the pen in her hand slid across the page of her notebook when the tickling pain spread in her right rib. Now, there was a visible "scar" in her visibly neat, visibly sabotaged notes. She immediately covered her mouth and looked up in time to see the whole class staring at the reasonable model student who just, well, uttered a series of colorful curses. Already mustering up a glare (and fighting the incredible blush that was creeping up her cheeks), she turned to her right, and found Mei-Mei ogling her with eyes that seemed almost ready to pop out. They seemed to keep swiveling back and forth to the front of the class, then to Soi's face.

"Mei, are you having a convulsion?!" Soi asked frantically, noting that her friend's behavior was weirder than usual.

At that, Mei's eyes bugged out even more, and the redhead couldn't help but slap her hands to her forehead. For one of the smartest people in school, Soi, you are incredibly slow, Mei-mei observed inwardly.

Exasperated, she countered Soi's confused and worried look with a withering one. She shook her head and motioned for the ruby-eyed girl to look at the front. After following Mei's line of vision, Soi instantly felt dread pooling at her stomach. There, in the front row, was the ominous figure of her Physics teacher, looking cool, bored, and undeniably handsome in a gray, long-sleeved dress shirt and black slacks, and eliciting waves upon waves of drool and sighs from the female population. Her eyes narrowed, as she noticed that he, and her homeroom professor, kept glancing her way, as if their discussion involved her for some unintelligible reason. She didn't particularly dominate the talks of the faculty, since her work concerned only the adviser of the student council.

Her curiosity escalated when her homeroom professor caught her eye and signaled for her to come to the front. She moved slowly, easing out of her seat with a questioning gaze directed at Mei-Mei, who gave her a wink and a thumbs-up. She rolled her eyes heavenward, thinking that in some part of their childhood, Mei lost a few screws during their misadventures.

Making her way to the front of the class, her gaze collided with her physics teacher's, and her heart jumped painfully at the sight of the sharp, electric blue of his eyes, that seemed to cast some unknown spell and render her dumbstruck. With a great amount of will, she managed not to falter while in the midst of making her sluggish trek toward her two professors. She mentally kicked herself and tore her eyes away from the piercing stare.

Stupid hormones!! It's bad enough that he's got 599 of the female population in this campus eating at the palm of his hand; it would be stupid of me to add to his already incongruously huge ego, Soi thought frantically. She cleared her throat and was subjected to the teachers' attentions.

"Ah, Ms. Soi, have you heard of the Physics Nationals? The ones being held in Tokyo every four years?" her homeroom teacher inquired.

"Of course, Sensei. I've been meaning to ask you about it as well. Why, what's the news? Has someone already been chosen to compete?"

"Well, we thought about entering YOU in the competition."

Her eyes widened, and she was speechless for a moment, but she blinked herself back to reality. Her heart gave a big thump at the thought of Tokyo. Already, fireworks were beginning to pop in her excited, little mind.

"Me? Sensei, you of all people know that Physics isn't one of my strongest points, and that's already an understatement," she calmly asked, although still not believing the opportunity. She could hardly believe her luck!

"That's where, not surprisingly, you're WRONG again, Kaen. I've been tabulating the performance of your batch here, and you seem to have the fastest improvement rate, even though you do have a strangely hard time of digesting the concepts. You'll do, although I can't say we stand a chance against the other competing universities," the Physics teacher bit back coldly, with hardly any emotion as would a dead fish, earning an amused glance from the homeroom professor, and an icy glare from Soi. She was already practicing a habit of clenching and unclenching her hands in efforts of control whenever she was with this sorry excuse for a teacher!!

"You see, Soi? You of all people have the best chance in keeping track of as much information that you can gather in preparation for the nationals. Never mind that you don't understand half of the concepts now. You're brain can absorb more information like a sponge, rather than those who excel in the subject," the homeroom professor stated bluntly.

"So it's decided. You will be our representative. The competition will be in five months' time. Be ready by then. Ayuru-san here, will be your coach. I expect you to train everyday, after school. Good luck, Soi," the homeroom teacher finished, without letting a word in, edgewise.

"B-but sensei----"

"Hold on there, Kasegawa, I have a lot under my belt, and I don't have time to tutor a student. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if she lost, with or without a coach," Nakago cut in sharply, eliciting a furious and impatient sigh from Soi.

"I have pending responsibilities too, Kasegawa-sensei. I don't have the time, let alone the energy to put up with the tutoring sessions. I also don't think that any coaching from Ayuru-san, here, would do me any good. A student's academic response to a subject is the result of the teacher's performance, if I may be so bold to remind you, Ayuru-san," Soi shot back.

"I couldn't care less what you think of my performance, Kaen. Out of all the students I've ever encountered, you're the only one who responded with a dead brain to my teaching techniques. Blaming the teacher. Absolute nonsense. Is this what your students have been up to Kasegawa?" Nakago inquired the much older professor.

Soi sputtered for a few moments from the insult, but reverently gained her composure.

"The only reason your subject is so popular, Ayuru-san, is mainly due to the growing disease of bad eyesight in the female population, not because of your supposedly appraised teaching techniques. Good day Sensei," she finished with a huff, giving a slight bow to Kasegawa first, before retreating to her seat.

A small, indiscernible scowl graced Nakago's features as he watched Soi with foreboding, albeit a bit of admiration. No woman has ever used his good looks against him like that, except maybe for his mother. She will regret that remark, he promised himself.

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so, what'd you guys think??? i'm all revved up to write, but i'm still missing a few pieces... yaddah!!! r&r please!!! Onegai!:)


	3. torture or not

MUSHROOMS

Chapter 3

Fresh beads of sweat trickled down the front of Soi's face, courtesy of the warm weather. Breathing heavily, she pumped her legs faster. Ayumi made it clear, from her distressed expression, that Soi was wanted at the library, pronto! According to her friend, their student council adviser, Shinobu-san, had something very urgent to discuss with her, and that the library, with its tall shelves and voluminous books was, at some length, the right place to speak of the private matter.

All the while, Soi was wondering about Ayumi's curious mood. When she delivered their teacher's pressing request, she was obviously worried. However, when Soi was already bolting out the door, she couldn't miss the secret, mischievous smile that spread across Ayumi's face. It flustered Soi to some extent, since the quiet girl was rarely seen doing anything devious, yet when she was, one was to expect all hell to break lose, especially when the pranks' victims were Soi and Mei-Mei. But then, Soi thought, this is the student council we're talking about. She wouldn't trick me with that, would she? No she definitely would not. She couldn't! Frustrated and anxious, Soi pushed the thought out of her mind. Now was the time to think about the present issue, and she could do without mooning over Ayumi's suspicious behavior.

Already stressing over the possible problems and situations that could have gotten wrong, like for example, a not-so-subtle conveyance of displeasure from the board of directors concerning her council's most recent projects, Soi urged her legs to go faster. Thanking her rigorous training during her track-and-field days, she managed to skid to a halt in front of the huge double doors in less than ten minutes.

Once inside, she quickly scanned the room for Shinobu-sensei, and all thoughts of Ayumi trying to ambush her in the library vanished when she saw the student council adviser talking to the librarian at the check-out counter. She hastily made her way between a few occupied long tables.

"Shinobu-sensei, Monasu-sama, good afternoon to both of you," Soi greeted the two, older women, before offering a bow. She then turned her full attention to her adviser, her brows furrowed, and her face completely serious.

"Shinobu-sensei, I came here as quickly as I could. What happened? Did the directors decide to pull out their sponsorship from our student welfare project? Were they disappointed with the results of the fund-raising activity? I can't believe it! How do they expect to raise that much money if they don't even send enough helpers to assist in the event? Honestly, I thought the amount we managed to collect was adequate, high even, when I think about how very few people came to work with us. Besides, the standard that they set was ridiculously high, and I had hoped they would lower the – "

"Soi, what on earth are you talking about?" Shinobu-sensei cut her off mid-rant. "The board of directors fully supports the student welfare project, and we've been getting nothing but great reviews for the fund-raising," she assured, and paused, her mien depicting that of bewilderment and concern. "What has gotten into you, Soi? Are you alright?"

Soi merely blinked in reaction, yet the simple movement belied the rampage within her furiously working brain. A million thoughts raced at once inside her head, the first of which was to bring Ayumi to the zoo and feed her to the crocodiles, limb by limb.

"Soi? Soi! Dear, are you sure you're alright? Do you have to go to the medical wing?" the teacher asked tentatively, peering up at her student with alarm.

"Oh my, I think she's shell-shocked," the mousy librarian, Monasu-sama, spoke softly.

Shaking her head and smiling ruefully at both women, Soi was forced to postpone the gratifying image of Ayumi being flattened by a gigantic rolling pin, being doused in hot tar, and covered with a flurry of chicken feathers.

"Shinobu-sensei, are you sure there wasn't anything you wanted to tell me? Something important perhaps? About the student council?" Soi inquired solemnly, trying in vain to conclude what her about-to-be-dead friend was up to.

However, before Shinobu could even open her mouth, Kasegawa-sensei beat her to it. With an easy, placating smile, he gave a slight nod to the women, and then faced Soi with eyes that twinkled with mischief. For the second time that day, Soi was swamped with an incredible sense of dread…and anticipation. Why, she didn't know.

"Soi, I'm so pleased that you decided to come to the tutoring session. I hope

Takashi-san didn't make you run too fast. You see I mentioned to her that you were a bit reluctant in attending the review, and she said that I leave it all up to her," Kasegawa said, referring of course to the triple-dead, double-cursed, ex-friend, Takashi Ayumi.

So that's it, Soi thought darkly. Oh, when I get my hands on Ayumi, she's going to wish to spend eternity in Timbuktu, rather than go to every single school day with ME. Controlling the urge to storm the school and corner Ayumi, Soi attempted to smile with gritted teeth, which really came out as a ferocious-looking grimace.

"Come now, Soi, let's not spend wasting away precious time. Thank you Shinobu-san, Monasu-san," Kasegawa said engagingly, tilting his head at the professors, and clasping Soi lightly at the elbow to lead her to the back of the library.

"Now, I reserved a table in the far back, so you could get your privacy and really concentrate on studying. Rest assured, nobody will be bothering you, or Ayuru-san, while you get cracking with the books," Kasegawa-sensei said, obviously in a good mood. Was Soi imagining it, or did she see a glinting, knowing look in Kasegawa's eyes? Dismissing the thought, Soi immediately went back to narrowing down the options on how she could make Ayumi live in complete torment.

To say the least, the campus library was idyllic, with high, sweeping ceilings, tall, arched windows, and rows after rows of shelves and spacious tables. The atmosphere was perfectly calm, and the oak wood that composed of the library's furnishings made everything seem elegantly rustic. The large ceiling fans cooled the air, and the silence was comfortable. In the late afternoon, the sun seemed to wash the library in warmth, and in the farthest, almost completely hidden corner, its rays appeared to make the head of one man shine like newly-spun gold.

Needless to say, Soi cursed what promised to be a long day, when she saw the telltale blonde hair and broad shoulders. Ayuru-san had his back facing them, and Soi narrowed her eyes and glared, wishing she could somehow burn a hole right through him. That was when he turned around, faced them, and rendered her absolutely speechless.

Her eyes widened, as if of their own accord, and her lips parted slightly at the sight her professor made. Blinding, golden hair touched his shoulders and a few strands brushed his high cheekbones. His blue eyes, unreadable and cold, all but fairly glowed with intensity. The light from the windows made his skin appear absolutely radiant. He looked, well, DIVINE, literally and figuratively – like an archangel lost in the daily trivialities of earth. He raised one wing-like brow at her awe-struck expression, and as if slapped, Soi was harshly brought back to reality. The look of disdain he gave her was enough proof that the man sitting there was, indeed a very infuriating and punch-worthy man, and not at all a god.

"Is it your trademark to always arrive late, Kaen, or are you simply slow? But then again, judging by your poor mental ability, I believe it's the second reason," Ayuru-san provoked softly, eyes flashing with ice, arrogance, and authority.

Soi's eyes narrowed to slits as she took a threatening step towards the smirking Physics professor. Fortunately, Kasegawa-sensei held out a hand and prevented the goriest, most brutal murder that would ever have been witnessed in history.

She resumed to wonder what she could have done to annoy fate this way.


End file.
